State Records NSW - Standard on appraisal

Standard on the appraisal and disposal of State records

This standard sets out principles guiding the appraisal and disposal of State records in accordance with best practice and to meet the requirements of section 21 of the State Records Act 1998.

The principles require that decisions and actions to make, keep, and dispose of records should be:

analytical
comprehensive
authorised
accountable, and
implemented.

Each of these principles are supported by mandatory compliance requirements.

Contents

Click here for the Principles in the standard.

Click here for Appendix A (List of Compliance Requirements) and Appendix B (Implementing the Standard)

Table of Commentary

Click here for the Table of Commentary on this standard.

Printable version

A PDF version of the Standard is available for printing.

Introduction

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to set benchmarks and to guide public offices in conducting appraisal and disposal processes, including the development of records retention and disposal authorities and the implementation of these authorities in the public office.

Authority

This standard is issued under section 13(1) of the State Records Act which enables State Records to 'approve standards and codes of best practice for records management by public offices.'

Application

This standard applies to all public offices as defined in section 3 of the State Records Act, to which Part 2 of the Act applies. This standard covers all State records on any topic and in any format.

Background

The appraisal and disposal of records has a central place in the records management program of all public offices. Every public office needs to know how long to keep the records of its business.

It is important to make sound decisions about how long to retain records and when to dispose of them. Records, and the information contained in them, are key assets of any business and need to be retained and disposed of properly.

The Standard on Full and Accurate Records, revised in 2004, specifies requirements for the creation and capture of records and the design of recordkeeping systems. This standard complements the Standard on Full and Accurate Records and focuses on other aspects of the appraisal process such as determining how long records should be retained and the management of the disposal of State records within public offices.

The Standard on Managing a Records Management Program, revised in 2004, specifies that a public office's records management policy statement directs how records should be disposed of in the public office, that retention and disposal authorities are in place for all records of the public office, and that records are disposed of according to these retention and disposal authorities. This standard complements the Standard on Managing a Records Management Program and focuses on how the retention and disposal authorities and disposal processes should be implemented as part of a public office's records management program.

This standard also supports important provisions of the State Records Act 1998. Section 21 of the Act, in general, prohibits the disposal of State records except where disposal is authorised. Some exceptions to this requirement include disposal of State records required under other legislation or by court order. State Records usually provides permission for disposal through the approval of retention and disposal authorities. The 'normal administrative practice' provisions of the Act provide for the limited legal disposal of State records without the specific authorisation of State Records to enable public offices to carry out a number of everyday, common sense procedures and practices.

Section 27 provides that, once State records are no longer in use for official purposes in the public office responsible for them, State Records is entitled to control of them. This means that, where records have been identified in a retention and disposal authority as being required as State archives, a public office should advise State Records when they are no longer in use for official purposes and make arrangements to transfer them to State Records' control. This will involve either transferring the records to State Records' custody or negotiating a 'distributed management agreement' with State Records whereby the public office or a third party will have custody of the records and assume responsibility to care for them as State archives.

Records are regarded as no longer in use for official purposes in a public office if they are more than 25 years old, unless the public office has made a 'still in use determination' covering them. A public office should therefore transfer records required as State archives to State Records' control once they are 25 years old (unless a still in use determination is in force), but the records should be transferred earlier if they cease to be in use for official purposes earlier, as will often be the case.

Undertaking the process of appraisal and disposing of records has a number of benefits for public offices and the Government. By appraising and disposing of records in an efficient and effective manner, public offices can:

reduce storage costs for the organisation
prevent destruction of records required for the business operations of the organisation, and
facilitate better management of records.

The benefits for Government include:

reducing significantly the total cost to Government of records storage
facilitating better access to records required for decision-making and delivering services to the community
ensuring that records of permanent value to the Government and the people of NSW are retained safely and preserved for ongoing use.

Structure

This standard sets out five principles for managing the appraisal and disposal of State records. Under each principle there is an explanation of the principle and identified compliance requirements.

A consolidated list of compliance requirements is available at Appendix A.

To assist public offices in undertaking appraisal and disposal activities, State Records has a range of guidance and training available. Appendix B of the standard provides guidance on implementing the principles and links to relevant guidance and training materials from State Records.

Definitions

Appraisal

The process of evaluating business activities to determine which records need to be captured and how long the records need to be kept, to meet business needs, the requirements of organizational accountability and community expectations. AS 4390 Part 1 Clause 4.3

Disposal

A range of processes associated with implementing appraisal decisions. These include the retention, deletion or destruction of records in or from recordkeeping systems. They may also include the migration or transmission of records between recordkeeping systems, and the transfer of custody or ownership of records. AS 4390 Part 1 Clause 4.9

Disposal action

A disposal action in a retention and disposal authority is a statement of the disposal decision (the retention period before destruction or whether the record is required as a State archive). A disposal action may also be considered to be the implementation of disposal decisions or the activity of disposal.

Normal Administrative Practice

Disposal of generally ephemeral or facilitative records without the need for formal authorisation of State Records. See State Records Act (NSW) s. 22 and State Records Regulation 2005.

Record

Record means any document or other source of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form or on film, or by electronic process, or in any other manner or by any other means. State Records Act 1998 (NSW)

Retention and disposal authority

Document approved by State Records that sets out appropriate retention periods and disposal decisions for classes of records. There are two main types:

Functional retention and disposal authorities authorise the retention and disposal of records unique to a specific organisation.

General retention and disposal authorities authorise the retention and disposal of records common to more than one organisation. Such records may include:

general administrative records
common records that relate to unique functions, and
records relating to the unique functions of like organisations such as local councils, universities and public health services.

Retention period

The period of time, usually based on an estimate of the frequency of current and future use, and taking into account statutory and regulatory provisions, that records need to be retained before their final disposal. Ellis (ed), Keeping Archives, p. 479

Sentencing

The process of identifying and classifying records according to a retention and disposal authority, recording/registering the appropriate disposal decision and action for the records, and applying the disposal action specified in the retention and disposal authority.

State record

Any record, made and kept, or received and kept, by any person in the course of the exercise of official functions in a public office, or for any purpose of a public office, or for the use of a public office. State Records Act 1998 (NSW)

For further definitions of general recordkeeping terms used in this document, see State Records' Glossary of Recordkeeping Terms.

Acknowledgement

State Records acknowledges the use of information from the National Archives of Australia's Appraisal guidance in the development of this standard.

Further information

For more information on this standard, contact State Records.

Using this standard

Overview

This section provides context for the requirements of the standard, explaining the meaning of, and benefits arising from the appraisal and disposal of State records.

What is appraisal?

Appraisal is a process of analysis and decision-making undertaken to determine what records should be created and captured about the organisation's business and how long these records need to be retained. The appraisal process informs the development of requirements for systems to create, capture, and manage records, and the development of disposal authorities.

By undertaking an analysis of business functions and activities of an organisation, recordkeeping requirements are identified. The implementation of these requirements ensures that records required to support business processes and provide evidence of the organisation's business activities are created and captured into recordkeeping systems and maintained for as long as they are required. Appraisal activities, such as functional analysis, are often carried out as part of the design and implementation of recordkeeping systems, business systems and processes to ensure that recordkeeping functionality is built into the systems. This is increasingly important where records are either 'born digital' or digitised and need to be managed appropriately within business systems.

Appraisal primarily involves:

determining what records should be created and captured to document a business function or activity, and
determining how long the records should be retained and how they should eventually be disposed of.

This standard focuses on the second aspect of appraisal.

The appraisal decision-making process should be planned, systematic, consistent, transparent and accountable. The result of this process is that appropriate records are created and captured into systems and are retained for as long as they are required. Appraisal decisions relating to the retention and disposal of records should be incorporated into retention and disposal authorities.

One of State Records' functions is to identify and preserve records as State archives. These are records which document the authority and functions of Government, its decision-making processes and the implementation and outcomes of those decisions, including the nature of their influence and effect on communities and individual lives. Criteria for the identification of State archives are listed in Building the Archives: Policy on records appraisal and the identification of State archives. The Policy also explains the roles and responsibilities for State Records and public offices in undertaking appraisal processes and disposal activities.

Benefits of undertaking appraisal

The benefits of undertaking appraisal include:

understanding the need to create and manage records which document the business activities of the public office
being aware of and planning for the capture of adequate evidence of the rights, entitlements and obligations of the public office and its clients
complying with laws and regulations
developing records management tools such as whole of public office retention and disposal authorities which assist the public office manage records from 'birth to death'
preserving corporate memory, and
preserving permanently valuable records for use by the people of New South Wales.

What is disposal?

The process of implementing appraisal decisions is disposal. This can include the physical destruction of hard-copy records, the deletion of records from recordkeeping or business systems, the transfer of records to archival custody (to State Records' repositories) or the transfer of records to private ownership.

Benefits of implementing retention and disposal authorities

The benefits of implementing retention and disposal authorities include:

managing records effectively, as the organisation knows what records it creates and maintains, how long they need to be kept, and has permission to undertake disposal
minimising the risks arising from uncertain retention/disposal arrangements
keeping records that are required as evidence of the organisation's business activities for the appropriate periods of time
identifying and protecting records that should be retained as State archives
minimising the cost to organisations from storing time-expired records unnecessarily, and
ensuring more efficient utilisation of available records storage space.

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© State of New South Wales through the State Records Authority of New South Wales, 2007.
First published April 2007
This work may be freely reproduced for personal, educational or government purposes. Permission must be received from State Records Authority for or all other uses. See our copyright notice for contact details.
ISBN 0-9757845-4-9